Letter: Academic detailing undermines doctor-patient relationship

Thursday

Dec 6, 2012 at 7:45 PMDec 6, 2012 at 7:46 PM

Now that the election is over, it is time to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the future of healthcare in this country. The campaign ads have stopped airing and instead of finger pointing we must figure out a way to deal with the challenges that we all face as Americans.

To the Editor:

Now that the election is over, it is time to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the future of healthcare in this country. The campaign ads have stopped airing and instead of finger pointing we must figure out a way to deal with the challenges that we all face as Americans.

There are going to be many changes in the way we receive our healthcare over the next few years as a direct result of President Obama’s re-election. For example, decisions will have to be made about the best way to stabilize the Medicare program and ensure that it is solvent as the baby boomers turn 65 and as current beneficiaries live longer.

While most agree that reducing the cost of healthcare is important, there are certain approaches currently being considered that place too much emphasis on cost reduction and not enough on ensuring that decisions about our healthcare remain in the hands of doctors and patients and not government bureaucrats and insurance companies.

One such approach is known as “academic detailing” which calls for government contractors to present government funded research at one-on-one meetings with treating physicians. The academic detailers will strongly advise treating physicians to “consider” following government-funded CER study results and U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommendations that have been highly controversial.

Academic detailing undermines the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship. Americans have always been able to take comfort in the fact that their doctors have had the freedom to consider all treatment options and choose the one that best fits the needs of the patient. Pressuring doctors to select treatment options based on what is cheapest or average is not what is best for individualized, personalized patient care and that should be something we can all agree on.